Means for moving a ski boot buckle into and out of a closed position

ABSTRACT

A ski accessory includes buckle operating means for moving ski boot buckle prongs into and out of holding positions. The appliance comprises a lever body having spaced apart gripper sides formed at one end thereof for engaging an extremity of a buckle prong. A lever arm portion extending outwardly from one of the gripper sides constitutes a handle part through which manually applied pressure may be exerted to move a buckle prong. A casing member may be provided to protectively enclose the appliance and the casing may also be utilized to hold various items carried by a skier including a screw driver element designed to be detachably fitted into the lever body.

United States Patent Hamilton MEANS FOR MOVING A SKI BOOT BUCKLE INTOAND OUT OF A CLOSED POSITION Inventor: Munroe ll. Hamilton, 66 RobbinsRd., Lexington. Mass. 02173 Filed: Feb. 12, 1973 Appl. No.: 331,690

Related U.S. Application Data Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 138.477.April 29. 1971, abandoned.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Beeman 74/544 UX McKee 74/544 X51 Feb. 11, 1975 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 902.296 8/l962 GreatBritain............... 24/205.l5 H

Primary Examiner-Al Lawrence Smith Assistant E.\'aminerRoscoe V. ParkerAttorney, Agent, or Fzrm- Munroe H. Hamilton [57] ABSTRACT A skiaccessory includes buckle operating means for moving ski boot buckleprongs into and out of holding positions. The appliance comprises alever body having spaced apart gripper sides formed at one end thereoffor engaging an extremity of a buckle prong. A lever arm portionextending outwardly from one of the gripper sides constitutes a handlepart through which manually applied pressure may be exerted to move abuckle prong. A casing member may be provided to protectively enclosethe appliance and the casing may also be utilized to hold various itemscarried by a skier including a screw driver element designed to bedetachably fitted into the lever body.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEBI 1 i975 3 9.

SHEET 10$ 2 PATENTEB FEB1 I \875 SHEET 2 0r 2 MEANS FOR MOVING A SKIBOOT BUCKLE INTO AND OUT OF A CLOSED POSITION This invention relates toski accessories and in particular buckle operating means for positioninga buckle fastening of the class commonly employed in ski boot buckles inwhich a pivoting prong formed with a notched underside is engagedthrough a holding loop in a position to provide tightening.

During recent years. the use of ski boots with buckle fastenings hasbeen almost universally adopted by skiers in place of standard bootlacings commonly used for many years. Buckle fastenings are found to bemore satisfactory, and one of the advantages of the buckle fasteningover lacings is the convenience afforded by buckles in quickly securinga ski boot in place, and especially in adjusting the tension exerted atany desired point, made possible by tightening or loosening individualbuckles. This may, for example, be done to relieve a pressure-sensitivearea in the foot, or more frequently, to obtain increased supportingeffect at a loealized area in the boot.

However, certain inconveniences are experienced with the buckle typefastening. For example, in putting on ski boots some of the buckles arenot as easily reached as others and correct adjustment of tensionbecomes more difficult, especially if the skiers hands are cold. Also,it frequently happens that after the first run down a ski slope, greaterholding tension in some of the buckles may be desired by the skier. Thusthere is developed more resistance in the buckle tensioning mechanism tobeing moved into and out of a holding position. lnconvenience may befurther experienced by the skier in setting a less accessible buckleprong in a desired position with a buckle loop and then forcing the endof the buckle prong down into a fully closed position. This isparticularly so in the case of women and children skiers. Anotherinstance of difficulty experienced may be in lifting or releasing one ormore buckle prongs from a closed portion, particularly where there isice formation in or around the buckle pivot components. It is also foundthat at a time when the skier wishes to remove the ski boots and hereleases one buckle after another, tension progressively increases inthe remaining buckles, and as a result, the last one or two buckles tobe released may be under sufficiently increased tension so that theywill resist release by normal finger grip pressure, particularly if thefingers are cold or if the finger grip pressure is exerted by a woman orchild skier.

It is a chief object of the invention, therefore, to deal with theproblems indicated and to devise improved buckle operating means for skiboot buckles by means of which inconvenience may be minimized, the reachof the skier may be desirably extended, and finger grip pressure is moreeffectively utilized.

Another object is to devise a lever type ski appliance which, includes aprong engaging part for detachably fitting on over a buckle prong whenin an opened position and pivotally forcing the buckle into a fullyclosed position with a minimum of effort being utilized.

Another object is to provide improved lever means for engaging with andlifting a buckle prong out of a closed position when under considerabletension or in frozen state.

A further object is to provide a buckle operating appliance whichincludes screw driver blade means.

Still another object of the invention is to devise a casing member inwhich a lever body may be contained and protectively enclosed.

And still another object is to devise a buckle operating appliance whichis of compact size so as to be readily inserted in the pocket ofa skiparka, and which can. if desired, be conveniently carried in a casewhich certain other accessories commonly carried by skiers may becombined. including car keys. ski lift fees and cosmetic items.

The nature of the invention and its other objects and novel featureswill be more fully understood and appreciated from the followingdescription of preferred embodiments of the invention selected forpurposes of iilustration and shown in the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. I is a perspective view of one preferred embodiment ofski bootbuckle operating means of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the buckle operating means ofthe invention engaged with a ski boot buckle prong in one operativeposition;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a buckle carrying case and screwdriver assembly;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the buckle operating means of FIG. 6 andfurther illustrating the screw driver part removed from the carryingcase;

FIG. 8 is a plan view ofthe case and buckle operating means with thescrew driver detachably fitted therein;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 8.

From recognition of inconveniences experienced by skiers in the use ofski boot buckles of the class noted, I have devised buckle operatingmeans which can be conveniently held in the fingers and used tofacilitate adjustment of such ski boot buckles. A preferred embodimentof buckle operation means is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive.

In general, the buckle operating means of the invention comprises alever body having spaced apart gripper sides formed at one end thereoffor engaging an extremity of a buckle prong. A lever arm portion extendsoutwardly from one of the gripper sides in a position to constitute ahandle part through which manually applied pressure may be exerted tomove the buckle prong. Extending between one of the gripper sides andopposite side edges of the handle portion are spaced apart bridgingsections arranged to provide a reinforced mid-section resistant toflexing when the manually applied pressure is transmitted through thegripper sides to move a buckle prong. When thus utilized, the handlepart constitutes a power arm.

As an aid to more fully understanding use of the buckle operating meansof the invention, it is believed to be helpful to consider in furtherdetail construction ofa typical form of ski boot now in use and withwhich buckles are utilized. Arrow S (FIG. 5) denotes fragmentarily anupper portion of a common form of ski boot. Attention is directed to thefact that most ski boots now in use are formed ofa hard, relativelyinflexible plastic material which is usually molded. Mounted on the bootS is a buckle prong supporting part S2 and a metal loop S6, togetherwith a loop supporting part S3. The parts are arranged so that the loopS6 may be drawn into overlapping relation to the part S2 by means of aprong S4, rotatably mounted in a bearingSS and formed with a notchedunderside S7. The prong S4 is intended to be of a size illustrative ofmore recently used prong shapes which tend to have a tapering form andwhich may be of varying widths of from one-fourth inch up tothree-fourth inches and larger.

It is pointed out that the highly inflexible nature of materials used toprovide a maximum degree of supportion action for the skier may berendered even more unyielding with exposure to low temperatures commonto skiing areas. Thus buckle means utilized for exerting tension anddrawing the upper parts S2 and S3 together may require a considerabledegree of force especially where the buckles are tightened in a coldenvironment, and it is in this connection that the buckle operatingmeans of the invention finds one particular application. Since it iscustomary to provide on each ski boot as many as four to six buckleassemblies and each buckle assembly includes a buckle prong and a buckleloop through which the prong may be engaged, a great deal of buckleadjustment, required during a days skiing, may be facilitated by thebuckler of the invention.

Considering the buckle operating means of the invention in more detail,reference character L indicates generally a lever body comprised by arelatively rigid material. One preferred material may, for example,consist of a plastic such as a plastic of the Nylon class manufacturedand sold by duPont Company under the name DELRIN. This plastic iscapable of retaining its resistance to bending without becoming brittlein tem peratures encountered in skiing, i.e., l below zero to 30 to 40F. above zero. Materials such as steel, aluminum and the like may alsobe used.

The lever body L is formed at one end with spaced apart prong grippersides 2 and 4 and in the position shown in FIG. 1, numeral 2 refers toan upper gripper side while numeral 4 refers to a lower gripper side.The gripper sides may be joined together by side wall sections as 3 and5 to constitute a tubular enclosure, and the sides 2 and 4 are speciallydesigned to define a prong-receiving opening of a size which willaccommodate a range of prong-widths, i.e., one-fourth inch tothree-fourth inches and larger, as earlier noted. This provides for theouter flaring end of relatively wide prongs being loosely receivedtherein. It is pointed out that the gripper sides when loosely slid onover the prong S4, in the manner shown in FIG. 5, may be moved upwardlyand downwardly into an interlocking position with the prong so that afirm gripping action is realized and yet the sides 2 and 4 may at anytime be readily disengaged and pulled away from the prong.

An important feature of the lever body L is an elongated handle portionor power arm 6 which extends outwardly from the bottom side 4, as shownin FIG. 4 and which may be ofa length suitable for being gripped in thehand as illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 5.

In accordance with the invention, I further provide reinforcing meansconstructed at the junction of handle 6 with gripper side 4. There isthus realized means for resisting flexing at this particular junctionpoint when manually applied pressure is transmitted through the grippersides to move the buckle prong S4. In one preferred form of reinforcing,I may utilize vertically disposed bridging wall sections as 8 and 10which extend from the top of gripper side 2 angularly outwardly anddownwardly to merge with and be joined with respective opposite edges ofhandle 6, as is best shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. By means of thisarrangement, I find that both of the side edges of the handle aresolidly joined to the top side 2 with sufficient rigidity to resistflexing when leverage forces of a magnitude required in overcoming theresistance of a ski boot buckle are manually exerted on the handle andthrough the gripper sides 2 and 4, as suggested in FIG. 5.

A further reinforcement and strengthening of the gripper sides may alsobe realized, I find, by joining them together with inner spaced walls W1and W2 which define tool retaining sockets as W3, W4 and W5, bettershown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.

In using the lever L in the manner indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 5,it will be observed that the prong S4 and the lever body L cooperate tocarry out a mechanical leverage of the second class wherein the fulcrumis represented by the pivot S5 and the resistance, as represented by theloop S3, is located between the fulcrum and the point of application offorce at the end of the prong and lever L. There may thus be realized arelatively large tensioning force on the buckle loop by the applicationof a relatively small force manually applied through the buckler. Thislever action may be advantageously used to over come the resistance ofthe loop S3 not only to swing the prong S4 up or down but, by using thetubular enclosure to contain the prong S4 against a sudden release orsnap which can injure a skiers finger and cuase much discomfort. It isalso pointed out that by making the lever with an elongated handleportion, the skiers reach is extended appreciably and the operation ofworking buckles when in an awkward position is expedited.

While the tubular end of the lever, together with its handle portionabove described, may be slid on over the end of a buckle prong to carryout most buckle operating movements required by a skier in eitherfastening or unfastening his boot buckles, there may occur instanceswhere even greater leverage forces are required particularly where aclosed buckle becomes frozen or otherwise very tightly locked in a downposition. To deal with difficult situations of this nature, I havefurther provided in the handle 6 a prong lifting slot 12, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. This slot is made of a length and width such that it mayreadily fit down over the end of a closed buckle prong with theunderside of handle part being placed against an adjacent surface of theboot. Along one side the slot is defined by beveled edges 6a and 6b.These edges are designed to slide under a solidly locked prong when thetubular part is held in the hand and pulled upwardly. As the bevelededges slide under the bottom of the prong, it becomes lifted upwardly aslight distance allowing the beveled edges to move inwardly. The leverbody may then be pivoted into a position to displace the prong upwardlyeven against very large resistance forces into a fully disengagedposition. In using the lever body L in the manner just above-described,it will be observed that the inner edge 6C bears against the prongimmediately above its pivot point S5. If desired, the handle 6 or powerarm may be formed with curviture to increase its leverage liftingcapabilities. It may also be desired to provide a relatively narrownotch 6d which is useful in fitting under and lifting narrow buckleprongs of approximately one-fourth inch width. a size of prong which ispresently used in some ski boots.

In addition to being used as a prong operating member, the lever body Lmay also serve a further useful purpose in clearing and removing frozenmasses of snow and ice which sometime form at the bottom of ski bootsoles and also at the top side of binding plates. For this purpose, Iprovide at the end of handle 6 a snow scraping edge 6s, as is mostclearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

As earlier noted, I may desire to construct the tubular end of the leverL with walls W1 and W2 which define tool retaining sockets as W3, W4 andW5. In FIGS. 6 to 9, there is illustrated a tool T of the screw driverclass which is especially suitable for use by a skier in adjusting skibinding screws. The sockets may also receive and support other itemssuch as tools for filing, boring, cutting, and so forth.

As shown in FIGS. 6 9, inclusive, the tool T, in a preferred form, maycomprise a screw driver bit formed with a blade and T1 and a shank endT2 which is shaped of a cross section complementary with that of thesocket W5 so that the shank may be slidably fitted into the socket W5,or in the socket W3, as suggested in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this position,the screw driver blade portion Tl may be located in a slotted head 16 ofa screw 18 indicated in FIG. 8 and intended to be illustrative of a typeof screw commonly used in ski bindings. It will be observed that thehandle or power arm part 6 functions as a holder for transmitting rotarydriving force to the screw driver bit with a relatively large turningforce being realized which enables the screw driver bit to drive screwsof a substantial size such as are utilized in ski bindings.

In combination with the tubular socket and screw driver bit assemblydescribed, I may also provide a screw driver retaining body consistingof a plastic casing element 20. The casing 20 is preferably formed witha back section 200 and a front section 2012. Between these sides, thehandle portion 6 and the lever L may be slidably contained, as suggestedin FIGS. 6 and 8. The casing may also be formed with an inner partitionor wall to define a compartment for carrying keys, coins and otherarticles.

At one end, the back section 20a of the casing is extended to provide atab section 200 in which is located a chain aperture 22 reinforced by agrommet part 24. Received in this opening 24 is a chain element 26. Thechain element 26 is arranged to be passed through a slot 28 formed inthe screw driver bit T, as best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The slot 28 isof sufficiently elongated shape so as to permit the chain 26 to extendthrough its upper portion when the screw driver bit is fitted into thesocket W5, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. By this arrangement, the screwdriver bit is always securely attached to the case when in use, and whenremoved from its holding socket, it cannot be dropped or lost in thesnow. When not in use, the screw driver bit may be snugly stored in oneside of the casing as shown in FIG. 6.

The screw driver bit T may also be formed with a Phillips screw head T3,as indicated in FIG. 7, to operate screws of this class, and when thusutilized, the opposite end of the screw driver bit is detachably fittedin one of the sockets W3 or W5.

Other tools may be detachably fitted into the sockets and for example, afile member may be located in ei ther of the sockets W3 or W5. Variousother tools such as wrenches, cutters, and the like, may be thusutilized.

I claim:

1. Ski boot buckle operating means for manually positioning a ski bootbuckle prong. said buckle operating means comprising a lever body havingspaced apart gripper sides formed at one end thereof for engaging anextremity of said buckle prong, a lever arm portion extending outwardlyfrom one of the gripper sides to constitute a handle part through whichmanually applied pressure may be exerted to move the buckle prong, andreinforcing means formed at the junction of the lever arm and anadjacent gripper side to resist flexing when the manually appliedpressure is transmitted through the gripper sides to move the buckleprong, said gripper sides being connected at their outer edges by sidewalls to form a tubular enclosure and the gripper sides being furtherjoined throughout a portion of their length by inner wall portionsparallel with and occurring in spaced relation to the said side walls.

2. Ski boot buckle operating means for manually positioning a ski bootbuckle prong, said buckle operating means comprising a lever body havingspaced apart gripper sides formed at one end thereof for engaging anextremity of said buckle prong, a lever arm portion extending outwardlyfrom one of the gripper sides to constitute a handle part through whichmanually applied pressure may be exerted to move the buckle prong, andreinforcing means formed at the junction of the lever arm and anadjacent gripper side to resist flexing when the manually appliedpressure is transmitted through the gripper sides to move the buckle,said gripper sides being connected together by outer wall sections andinner wall sections arranged in spaced relation to each other to definetool retaining sockets.

3. In combination, ski boot buckle operating means for manuallypositioning a ski boot buckle prong, said buckle operating meanscomprising a lever body having spaced apart gripper sides formed at oneend thereof for engaging an extremity of said buckle prong, a lever armportion extending outwardly from one of the gripper sides to constitutea handle part through which manually applied pressure may be exerted tomove the buckle prong, and reinforcing means formed at the junction ofthe lever arm and an adjacent gripper side to resist flexing when themanually applied pressure is transmitted through the gripper sides tomove the buckle prong, and means formed between of the gripper sides fordefining a receptacle in which a tool may be detachably received.

4. A structure as defined in claim I in which the lever arm portion hasa scraping edge formed at the end thereof.

5. A structure according to claim 1 in which the lever arm portion isrecessed to form an opening through which a buckle extremity may bereceived.

6. A structure according to claim 3 in which the lever arm portion isformed with an arcuate shape and is recessed to provide a buckleengaging slot.

1. Ski boot buckle operating means for manually positioning a ski bootbuckle prong, said buckle operating means comprising a lever body havingspaced apart gripper sides formed at one end thereof for engaging anextremity of said buckle prong, a lever arm portion extending outwardlyfrom one of the gripper sides to constitute a handle part through whichmanually applied pressure may be exerted to move the buckle prong, andreinforcing means formed at the junction of the lever arm and anadjacent gripper side to resist flexing when the manually appliedpressure is transmitted through the gripper sides to move the buckleprong, said gripper sides being connected at their outer edges by sidewalls to form a tubular enclosure and the gripper sides being furtherjoined throughout a portion of their length by inner wall portionsparallel with and occurring in spaced relation to the said side walls.2. Ski boot buckle operating means for manually positioning a ski bootbuckle prong, said buckle operating means comprising a lever body havingspaced apart gripper sides formed at one end thereof for engaging anextremity of said buckle prong, a Lever arm portion extending outwardlyfrom one of the gripper sides to constitute a handle part through whichmanually applied pressure may be exerted to move the buckle prong, andreinforcing means formed at the junction of the lever arm and anadjacent gripper side to resist flexing when the manually appliedpressure is transmitted through the gripper sides to move the buckle,said gripper sides being connected together by outer wall sections andinner wall sections arranged in spaced relation to each other to definetool retaining sockets.
 3. In combination, ski boot buckle operatingmeans for manually positioning a ski boot buckle prong, said buckleoperating means comprising a lever body having spaced apart grippersides formed at one end thereof for engaging an extremity of said buckleprong, a lever arm portion extending outwardly from one of the grippersides to constitute a handle part through which manually appliedpressure may be exerted to move the buckle prong, and reinforcing meansformed at the junction of the lever arm and an adjacent gripper side toresist flexing when the manually applied pressure is transmitted throughthe gripper sides to move the buckle prong, and means formed between ofthe gripper sides for defining a receptacle in which a tool may bedetachably received.
 4. A structure as defined in claim 1 in which thelever arm portion has a scraping edge formed at the end thereof.
 5. Astructure according to claim 1 in which the lever arm portion isrecessed to form an opening through which a buckle extremity may bereceived.
 6. A structure according to claim 3 in which the lever armportion is formed with an arcuate shape and is recessed to provide abuckle engaging slot.